An recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education discusses the value of first-year composition as a way to move past intractable debate and create a more civil discourse.

Of all the words that might be applied to Rush Limbaugh’s recent comments about Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke - "vile," "misogynistic" and "repulsive" come ( Read more... )

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Fuck you, LJ. I had a huge entry all typed out and ready to go but backspaced and LJ dumped it all. FUCK!

Okay, basically I have a lot of my course planned out. First, my job is to teach writing. However, I also want to impart some critical reading/thinking skills and I think using controversial topics is a good way to do that. BUT I don't want to ( Read more... )

  Got my syllabi, course calender, first assignment sheet and 2 weeks of lesson plans done. Also, finished a ~6K word Inception/The Dark Knight crossover, so yay! 

  I have this idea for my class which I am calling 'Stupid Questions.' I usually front-end my classes with a lot of lecture and, afterward, I ask if anyone has questions and no one ever does but their writing reflects that they don't really understand what I'm saying, which means I spend some time reviewing. So, I thought, instead of the usual "It' ( Read more... )

  For my English 101 classes, I'm thinking of doing the entire class or a unit on feminism. Mostly because a lot of my students are science/engineers, so they won't be taking women's studies classes. And also because the furor of sexism in atheist circles has reminded me that, unfair as it is, it's my duty as a teacher to help to make my students ' ( Read more... )